McGill University issued a statement late Thursday essentially denying that Andrew Potter was forced from his position as Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.

Potter quit the job in the wake of a storm of criticism over an article he wrote for Maclean's magazine this week, in which he blamed a "glaring absence of solidarity" in Quebec society for the botched response to last week's Highway 13 fiasco.

In the statement, McGill's principal Suzanne Fortier tried to set the record straight about "unfounded rumours and concerns regarding academic freedom" surrounding his resignation, suggesting "academic freedom is a foundational principle of McGill University".

The statement goes on to say that the Institute's board "regretfully" accepted Potter's resignation, and that he remains a professor and "valued member of the McGill community".

The column was roundly criticized by Quebec's pundit and political classes — many of whom denounced the article as an example of "Quebec-bashing".

The scandal-tinged defeat of Roy Moore in Alabama's special Senate election is raising faint hopes that it might embolden some decidedly reluctant Republicans to speak out in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement